Day Four — lots of things happened today!

Today I decided to skip the gym in the morning, cancelled a meeting and got busy.

Man, there is so much different fabric that I am trying to incorporate a piece of everything while keeping the design cohesive. You’ll notice that I am spending a lot of time prepping the box, painting and shellac. I do this because it is a form of meditation for me. As I work on the box, I am not really thinking so much as feeling the motion of the brush, the colors that I see, they way the different mediums I use and how they react to each other. As I am doing this, thoughts/ideas pop up into my head about the box and the message I want to convey. It’s an entirely organic process for me.

First thing I did was sand the back of my box and then used yellow oxide acrylic and a clean cloth and rubbed it over the existing color I had.  I then dry ragged it to remove the excess. This continued to create an old patina to the back.  You are wondering why I am bothering to do so much to the back?  Because the back of this assemblage will be equally important as the front. It, too, will have some sort of assemblage/construction/art.

I cut four small pieces of the white fabric that was in my construction box and lined the small drawers. Each drawer houses an assemblage or object that represents to me “Harmony” or “Living in Harmony”.  Nature (organic) and construction (inorganic) are the two driving themes when I say “Living in Harmony.” I also brushed some Calypso orange to the front drawer and dry ragged it off. I tinted the knobs as well.

In drawer one I assemblage a small bird. I started with a small white bird you would buy at a craft store where the wedding items are. I removed the tail and wing feather. 

I then took the chip brush that was in my Construction Box and removed the bristles. 

I then took a portion of the bristle and created a new tail and added a small metal heart that I clipped from a bracelet and adhered that tool. I added two new wings that are curled and covered them with green cloth that was in my box. I then used a small aluminum coin and using a jeweler’s anvil hammered it to create a small curve that I glued to the back of the birds head. I used the tip of one of the nails for its beak. I added a small curled vine twig to the top of its head and a piece of bauble on its chest that reads “love” on one side and “inspire” on the other. I then tinted with stain. This bird represents beauty and harmony.

In drawer two is a small plastic vile and stuffed in it are the dry petals from a pink carnation. The top and sides of the vile/tube was deliberately cracked and broken. I stuffed the top with a speckled pebble from the beach and wrapped elastic cord around the tube. The piece represents man’s futility in trying to control nature, hence the cracked plastic tube. On a side note, I chose to use plastic because I felt it represented inorganic waste/trash.

In drawer three, I have broken bits of marble, slate, stone and concrete that was in my box. These represent the enduring strength of nature. That no matter what we do, nature will, in the end, prevail over man.

In the fourth drawer is a small bundle of incense wrapped with unbleached cotton ribbon. Attached to the incense are small pieces of curly vine. The sweet aroma of the incense symbolizes something pleasing and acceptable being offered to God who gave us authority over the planet. The question we have to ask ourselves is have we taken that responsibility to heart?

Each box has a small tag attached with string. Each tag was created using the small round dots of the colorful fabric that was in my box.  A word is written on back of each tag. I use letters torn out of my vintage magazine collection.  I used the following words to represent each drawer:

1.     Bird = tag: Spirit

2.     Vile with petals =  tag: Futility

3.     Rocks/Stone = Strength

4.     Incense = for God

I also used that fabric to line the cubbyhole that is above the four drawers. Once that dried I brushed it with tinted shellac. I then painted the shelves cadmium orange and then dry brushed transparent raw sienna acrylic over that. It seemed to match nicely with the color Calypso Orange. I then finished it all off which images pasted inside the back wall where the drawers go in and glued pieces of rulers

to the shelf front. This is all part of the assemblage process that I describe as “automatic writing.”

I've been working since 9 am and it is now 3:30 pm. I am done for the day. I think I earned a burger and a beer so I'm off to get that! Signing off. Anastasia S. Weigle, In A Bind.